AMID concerns over the implementation of new administrative rates at the University of Guyana (UG), its administration on Sunday disclosed that the rates were approved close to a year ago by the University’s Finance and General Purposes Committee (F&GPC).
The administrative rates are for the provision of services for prospective and current students and graduates of the University of Guyana (UG).

In a statement, the university’s administration stated that the new rates were approved during a specially convened meeting of the F&GPC on June 1, 2017.
The F&GPC is a statutory arm of the university council. It was noted that the Council includes representatives from the University of Guyana Students’ Society (UGSS), the ministries of education and finance, the private sector, the trades union congress, civic bodies, the campus unions, and the administration.

According to the administration, the UGSS immediate past president participated in the meeting that approved the new fees.
“Apart from tuition and facilities fees, there are other expenses associated with studying at the university. These are commonly called administrative fees, and they cover a wide range of services, including fees for processing applications for degree, diploma and certificate programmes (adjusted from $500 to $1000), and late applications (adjusted from $2,000 to $3,000), late registration (adjusted from $10,000 to $12,000), supplemental examinations (adjusted from $1,500 to $5,000). The cost of personal transcripts will move from $3,000 to $5, 000,” the UG administration explained.

It was noted too that some services were entirely free; however, they will soon attract a fee. A student requesting to re-sit an examination will have to pay $6,000, while letters for students that are used for visa applications and other purposes now will attract a charge of $5,000.

The UG administration said it was important to note that the fees are only payable if use is made of the services to which they relate.
“The new administrative fees do not affect all students. Indeed, some fees do not affect current students; they affect graduates seeking transcripts and other services. A significant proportion of the request for transcripts comes from graduates residing abroad, and dispatching those transcripts carries additional costs,” the administration explained in the statement.

The administrative fees were last adjusted by the university about a decade ago. According to the university, a comparative analysis of administrative fees being paid at other local tertiary institutions reveals that the new UG fees are far from exorbitant.
The new rates initially were to take effect from January 1, 2018, but were deferred to be effective from March 1, 2018, after formal and extensive engagements with the current UGSS president and executive members, the UG administration stated.

IMPROPER
Current UGSS President Norwell Hinds said the move by UG to increase students’ administrative fees while introducing several others is improper.
Hinds said while he is not disputing that approval was granted in 2017, it is “improper” to implement those fees in 2018.

“UGSS feels that imposition of fees in this financial year is improper without the installation of a Council and UGSS will take all actions necessary to raise its non-support for implementation [of] these fees,” Hinds told the Guyana Chronicle.
He reasoned that the 2017 budget – of which the increases are part – has a “finite life” which ended December 31, 2017. This means that the budget year for 2017 would have expired, and any increase to fees which were not implemented would have to be brought back to Council.

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ivelaw Griffith, was quoted as saying, “While none of us wish to add to the costs of our students’ educational experiences, the practical reality is that running the university costs, and the government subvention does not and cannot be expected to cover all the costs.”
He added: “For instance, when the new Students Social Complex is opened later this year, the university will have to bear additional costs of utilities for the facility. Moreover, that is not the only new or renovated facility for which we have to cater.”
It was pointed out that adjustments to service fees are being done at a time when the university has been undergoing major transformational changes.

“It must be underscored that over the past two years, students at the university have been witnessing numerous improvements that directly enhance their learning environment and educational experience. These include, construction of a modern Student Social Complex that would be commissioned by the start of the 2018- 2019 academic year; air conditioning of the George Walcott Lecture Theatre (GWLT) and the Small Lecture Theatre (SLT) and the installation of new bathrooms in the GWLT; improved Wi-Fi access at Turkeyen, Tain, and the Dennis Irvine Hall, new PA systems in the lecture halls, and placement of fans in classrooms; extended service hours of the Registry and the Bursary, including opening on Saturdays, and partnering with GTT to offer Mobile Money to enhance services to students; provided G$100,000 each to 13 students (and three staffers) who were fire victims in Cummings Lodge and in Berbice,” the UG administration pointed out.

The administration boasted of initiating the Etiquette Training Programme for Student Leaders – an initiative funded from the Vice-Chancellor’s Fund. Some 56 student leaders were the first beneficiaries.

The launching of the Undergraduate Research Programme, the inaugural student research conferences at Turkeyen and Tain were among the other initiatives undertaken by the administration.